Should Scouting go transgender?

Just in time for Girl Scout cookie season comes a call for a boycott over gender identity issues. And for those of you who following the Shenendehowa sex ed controversy, this should sound familiar: some blame Planned Parenthood for all this.

The acceptance a few months ago by the Girl Scouts of a Denver boy who identifies as a girl has been reverberating ever since, with liberal activists applauding the decision and some local troops folding in protest.

The Huffington Post in October had a good synopsisof the story of Bobby Montoya, along with video of a TV interview the child. Bobby was initially refused entry to the troop, but the Colorado Girl Scouts of America subsequently allowed it. Amid a flurry of attention, the state organization issued a statement at the time that, “Girl Scouts is an inclusive organization and…If a child identifies as a girl and the child’s family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout.”

Last month, though, leaders of three troops in Louisiana said they couldn’t abide the decision, and set about disbanding their groups. Interestingly, as the story points out, some families have turned to a relatively new organization, American Heritage Girls, which formed in 1995 in response to the GSA’s decision to make the use of the word “God” optional in its promise. AHG, according to the piece, has found a soulmate in the Boy Scouts of America when it comes to a more conservative approach to such issues as intolerance of homosexuality.

And speaking of sexuality, a Web site that links all this permissiveness to Planned Parenthood and wants sex education eliminated from the Girl Scout program is now calling for a boycott of Girl Scout cookies.

What do you think? Should such groups admit a child who considers himself or herself to be the opposite sex? Should there be, perhaps, an age cut off (say, before puberty)? Or is it an all-or-nothing proposition either way?

17 Responses

The child in question is a little girl who happened to be born with a mostly male body. There is no danger to the other members of the group.

Your description of her as a “boy who identifies as a girl” is problematic, because she really isn’t a boy. Figuring out how to word it so people understand is always a challenge. Perhaps “a girl who was born with a male body” or something along those lines.

I don’t know about transgender and really, I don’t care. Being in Scouts, whether boys or girls, is not a right. What about those children whose parents cannot afford or do not want to bother with getting them into scouts?

I would be in favor of genderless scouts in terms of boys and girls together.

Somehow you forgot to mention the video made by the parents of a girl in Ventura,Ca in which she promotes the web site mentioned. Sloppy journalism, no bisquit.

Worse still is the headline, “Should Scouting go transgender”. By implying that Bobby Montoya is something other than a Girl (or even a Boy), you promote as much damage as the girl in Ventura that made the unmentioned video.

Bobby is a girl. A transgender girl. As someone that fully identifies and lives as a girl, the Girl Scouts of America has made it clear that she is welcome in their girls’ organization. To promote the idea that they are “going transgender” is cold, heartless and just a wee bit sensationalistic.

These organizations are PRIVATE organizations and if they don’t want to or do want to include/exclude anyone for whatever reason it is their business. All this PC crap has gotten in the way of the true missions of these organizations. I cannot forsee me giving up Girl Scout cookies, especially the “Formosa’s and Thin Mints”!!

Don’t forget about trans boys! When you come to understand what transgender really means, you will feel much better about a transgirl in your Girl Scout troop versus having to accept a transboy who was not allowed into Boy Scouts. Mental gender is more important than physical sex in social groups. It really is very simple.

Do girl scouts prevent lesbian girls from attending? If the argument is that allowing boys (even ones who dress as girls) in girl scouts presents some kind of sexual threat then they should also ban lesbian girls. I think if they allow lesbian girls then there is no reason not to allow boys from a sexuality standpoint.

I do however think its good to have organizations of just men and just women so they can do their own thing…i.e. girl and boy scouts.

@Albany Resident: PRIVATE organizations? I won’t even go into the question of how much public support these organizations might get. Lets just look at PRIVATE country clubs for WHITES ONLY as it used to be. Who cared if all the local development and public policy was decided in these PRIVATE clubs for WHITES ONLY. How about excluding all non-Christians at these clubs. We could be just like Iran with sharia and all, but for Christians. BTW – Are you familiar with what the TRUE mission of the scouts is?

@Ann: Your comment “What about those children whose parents … do not want to bother with getting them into scouts” raises a much different issue; one that is key to the whole education question, as well as for teen pregnancy and gang violence issues. Parents can’t do it on their own, but it can’t be done without parents.

As a former Girl Scout, I applaud their attempt to include anyone who identifies as being a girl. I always felt welcome and accepted and can only wish the same for every member of their organization. I think the Boy Scouts are a disgrace because of their homophobic rules. Let the conservatives move to the AHG – if you can’t be open to new people and new experiences, then you shouldn’t be a Girl Scout.

I totally gree with #5. If you don’t like a club’s rules, don’t join. There are plenty of other opportunities for you to get involved with like-minded people.
Similarly, if you don’t like gay marriage or abortion, don’t get one.

If we have come to the point where even something as basic as sex (male/female) is merely a figment of our own personal imagination, then we may as well admit that there is no objective reality — not even a vocabulary with which we can communicate.

Ed,Our troop number is 1061. We’d apprciate your business. You may also donate cookies. Our girls mainly give their donations to Mercy House,but you may designate your own charity,if you so choose.
I am a long time leader. We have included girls in our troop whose school leaders could not accomadate them due to numbers.When they are younger,the numbers are higher. As they grow, and are involved in other activities,GS sometimes takes a back seat.
What annoys me about the potential is the possibility of punishing the troops for the political opinions of a few people. The cookie sales are a major fundraiser for the troops. It’s how they go on trips,camp,etc.
It’s about the kids.

There’s a bigger issue here. I think any parents who think their 7,8 or 10 year old kid is a transgender, should lose their kid. It’s child abuse. How could any kid possibly know that until they hit puberty? little girls played with tonka trucks, little boys played with dolls. normal. but when parents and kids think at 7 yrs old, oh, its a boy trapped in a girls body, well thats just unreal, being those kids didnt develop their manhood or womenhood yet.

The agenda issue. There is so much mis-information out there it’s hard to sift through. If it’s written or spoken, it must be true, right? Wrong. It’s a well kept secret and a conspiracy, right? Wrong. Our government is hiding aliens in the Nevada desert, right? Wrong. Research an issue before coming to uninformed conclusions based on a single source. Please visit http://www.gsnim.org, under the “About Us” tag. It gives the position of the Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michiana, which mirrors that of GSUSA, on all of these topics.